upgrading video card, can i do it?

[mygb]

I was wondering if I would be able to upgrade my system with a new video card since my current one, geforce 4 ti 4200 is old.
I am looking to get a geforce 6800 series.

my mobo can be found here

http://usa.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A7V8X-X&langs=09

I doesn't have PCI express but I am going for an AGP version of a video card.

I've gathered all my mainboard info with software called Sandra. I'm not too sure if I have enough power supply for the cards and im also not sure if they will fit into my mobo.

here is the mainboard information, please have a look

http://dronedev.net/userfiles/sandra.txt

An example of the card I would get would be here

http://www.bfgtech.com/6800OC.html

This Graphics Card Requires:
1. A minimum 300W system power supply
2. An AGP compliant motherboard. Some motherboards violate the AGP specification and therefore this card may not physically fit in some systems
3. An available hard disk drive power dongle (smaller floppy disk drive connector is not sufficient)

DO i meet the requirements?

Thanks for your time

 

[rvnguy]

mygb,

This will physically fit the ASUS MOBO, you might need to leave the first PCI(next to the AGP slot) slot empty to allow for the GPU & fans & other stuff.

Power is supplied just like power to a HD and the card is supplied with a "Y" cable for this purpose.

Do you have a min 300watt Power Supply??? Read the PS label.

rvnguy

 

[mygb]

uh oh

heres a pic of my PS

http://www.trend-works.com/images/l_macron300lbl.jpg

max is 300w output....

 

[mygb]

I'm also wondering if I have a power dongle for this video card?

 

[rvnguy]

mygb,

As I posted earlier:

"Power is supplied just like power to a HD and the card is supplied with a "Y" cable for this purpose."

If you have a Hard Drive with power you have power for this card.

rvnguy

 

[mygb]

Thx, is my PS good enough for this card?

 

[cdogg]

Might barely make it. It depends on how many other devices you have in your system (hard drives, CD/DVD-ROMs, speed of CPU, etc).

A quality, name brand PSU (Antec, Enermax, etc) would have a greater chance of handling that load than a generic one. Generic PSU's have a harder time running at max loads for long periods of time, which usually causes them to fail for good.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[mygb]

well I don't know how much power my cpu is using other than this

Voltage Sensor(s)
CPU Voltage : 1.81V
+3.3V Voltage : 3.25V
+5V Voltage : 4.97V
+12V Voltage : 12.11V
Standby Voltage : 5.03V
Battery Voltage : 4.08V

I went to here

http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/Power_Supply_Calculator.php?cmd=AMD

and it came out to about "Your Recommended Minimum Power Supply is 230 Watts!" This wouldn't be totally accurate since some of the things under "PCI cards" and "Other accessories" I wasn't sure if I had any of those so I left them all unchecked except for "Sound Blaster - All Models (7 Watts)" because I know my sound card is a SB Live! Wave Device

 

[kmcferrin]

It's not so much a matter of how much power the CPU is using, as it is how many other devices are plugged into that power supply. Obviously you'll have the CPU, mainboad, and video card. Presumably you'll have a hard drive and a CD-ROM drive. If that is all that you have installed, then that 300 watt may be sufficient. If you have more than one hard disk, or more than one CD-ROM, or additional add-on cards (video capture/TV tuner, etc), or possibly even devices that get power from a USB port, then you'll probably be pushing it.

As was stated earlier, most power supplies have a max rating that is considerably higher than what they are able to provide on a continuous basis. There are a couple of really top-notch power supply vendors that most people like to stick with. As a rule of thumb, if you're using an off-brand/no-name power supply then you'll want to go bigger just to have that extra safety margin. Consider that a no-name 350 or 400 power supply will probably perform more like a brand name 300 watt power supply, and probably will cost about the same.

All that being said, the specs for your video card calling for a 300 watt power supply may be taking that into account and specifying far more power than is actually needed. So in short, you can try it and see what happens but I'd recommend getting a good PSU anyway.

 

[cdogg]

It's not so much a matter of how much power the CPU is using...

Actually, this is important. A Pentium III might consume as much as 50-60 less watts at any given moment than a newer P4. The same can be said of an original Athlon T-bird vs. the Athlon 64.

To me, these numbers DO make a difference and should always be considered alongside other devices in the system (hard drive, optical devices, video card, etc) as I mentioned earlier.

mygb,
It would appear that you have more than enough info to make a good decision.


A good rule of thumb is to stay at least 50 watts over what your system requires, with a 100 or more preferred for future upgrades.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[kmcferrin]

A clarification, my response about CPU power not mattering was in reference to the voltage figures that he had posted, which really weren't relevant.

 

[mygb]

Is replacing a power supply easy? I looks kind of dangerous considering it says HAZARDOUS AREA! DO NOT REMOVE THIS COVER, TRAINED SERVICE PERSONNEL ONLY. I've heard of someone being electricuted by one of these and dying even when the computer wasn't plugged in.

 

[danomac]

You don't have to take the cover off the power supply to change it. Most cases have 4 screws on the back of the case and the unit comes out as a whole piece.

They are warning about actually taking the power supply itself apart.

 

[cdogg]

I've heard of someone being electricuted by one of these and dying even when the computer wasn't plugged in.

This is because of "capacitors". Much like the charge that can be stored in a monitor or TV, yes they can be deadly. Just follow danomac's suggestion and you'll be fine.

~cdogg
"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." - Albert Einstein
[tab][navy]For general rules and guidelines to get better answers, click here:[/navy] faq219-2884

 

[kmcferrin]

Yeah, it's a piece of cake. Just disconnect the power supply from the wall, then disconnect all of the PC's internal components that are connected (hard disks, CD-ROMs, mainboard, etc). After that there's usually just a couple of screws on the back of the case that need to be removed and it will slide right out, and the new one should slide in just as easily.

 

[DragonQ0105]

Check the maximum Power Requirements of your PC at this website:

http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

 

[felixc]

For a "play it safe" power supply, look for Antec products. There are others, but this name comes first to many people.

 

[GaryKearley]

And don't take the old PSU apart and stick your fingers in it, as it hurts!!! )

Gary

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